New Investigations of Aging with Disability: Results and Implications for Data, Policy, and Practice

This symposium will feature four presentations on aging with and aging into disability by distinguished scholars from gerontology and rehabilitation. The purpose of this symposium is to advance knowledge about the health and well-being of individuals aging with long-term disabilities acquired at different stages of the life course, and identify implications for program development and public policy. The symposium will also examine how best practices in health interventions in the fields of gerontology and disability can be used to inform each other to better meet the needs of the expanding population of individuals aging with disabilities, regardless of age of onset.  Gaps in data sources and evidence will also be discussed. Implications focus on how these findings inform federal, state, and local level policies and practices as well as international efforts to bridge the fields of aging and disability research.

The first two presenters focus on documenting secondary/chronic health conditions experienced by individuals aging with long-term disabilities acquired earlier in life, and outlining the results of reviews of best practices for health promotion interventions to synthesize “what works” for middle-aged and older adults aging with physical and developmental disabilities. The third presenter utilizes data from The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) to examine implications of disability onset before late life for supportive services. The fourth presenter places these trends within a larger context of initiatives on healthy aging and highlights how they inform national and international work on bridging aging and disability research, policy, and practice.